Friday, April 29, 2016

Masked Shrikes

Troodos VC still seemed to be the best area to see them; a male was building a nest shown here in a pine





lizards and crickets

the big ones are Agami I assume the smaller lizards no idea; the smaller crickets were in their millions on the headland at Pissouri -- lots of the larger one about 10cm long (upper shot) up the valleys; watched a Great Spotted Cuckoo chasing them in the grass, rather comical
 locust sp?








a few rubbish passerines record shots


 Collared Flycatcher
 Eastern Black-eared Wheatear

 Eastern Olivaceous Warbler
 Red-backed Shrike
 Short-toed Lark
 Spotted Flycatcher


 Spectacled Warbler

Zitting Cisticola
Rock Thrush

Rollers


two pairs nest at the end of the road where we stayed but they never quite did what I wanted in decent light - the perched shots by the hole were at 3200 ISO -- when they flew about it was always in hot sun and heat haze -- next time










Banded Demoiselle

have studied The Dragonflies of Britain and Europe and it looks like these may be of the form intermedia that is said to occur on the south-east coast of Turkey and in which in places 100% of the females are andochromes presumably like the one here that had me scratching my head


Spanish Sparrows

males love to sing from and nest in palm trees -- females are subtle



Cetti's Warblers

these two were having a stand off battle on adjacent reeds with wing flicking tail waving and constant song - I took a bit of video